Who polices the wardens?

At 9.30 the other morning I parked my car in Sir Ugo Mifsud Street, Ta' Xbiex, a corner away from my office. The recently introduced parking scheme means that I am allowed 90 minutes of parking, and I set the time on my parking disc accordingly and put it on the dashboard.

Leaving the office for an appointment just over an hour later, I found a ticket waiting for me from warden no. 426, issued at 10.37 a.m. The reason? I had parked without permission for a period longer than that allowed! It doesn't take the most brilliant of mathematicians to figure out that 90 minutes from 9.30 a.m. run out at 11 a.m. so this ticket should clearly have not been issued.

This is the second time this has happened in the short time since this scheme has been introduced by the Ta' Xbiex local council, and though the first time I decided that my time was more important than all the hassle of arguing and just paid the fine, this time I resolved to try and do something about it.

I called the offices of the Ta' Xbiex local council from my mobile and after explaining what had just happened to the receptionist, I asked who I could speak to, to try and get the warden involved back to the spot, and possibly find out why this kontravvenzjoni was issued, when I had another full 23 minutes of parking at my disposal. Of course, the blood pressure augmenting response was that the council was not involved in issuing tickets (m'għandux x'jaqsam), and that if I wanted to, I could either contest the contravention at the tribunal hearing or else write to the petitions board!

So what are my options now? Pay up and shut up, because some clever-chops who was given a hideous green uniform and a computer as a toy, thinks he or she can go about dishing out fines whenever in the mood, possibly to pay his own salary at the end of the month, or create some funds for the local council. Or do I waste a few hours by going to contest the fine, which will involve driving to the hearing, getting stuck in traffic, looking for a parking place, waiting for the case to be heard, and ultimately be in a situation where it is my word against the warden's?

I suggest that in 2008, most people's time is worth much more than the hassle and aggravation involved in contesting these fines. The way the system is set up is flawed, and encourages wardens to issue tickets as and when they feel like it. In a worst case scenario, what does a warden stand to lose, even if somebody successfully contests a fine? Before the last election, I believe that there was talk of the whole system being looked at and overhauled. In my view, this is long overdue.

I sincerely hope somebody doesn't recite that old joke that "wardens are there to educate the public". Wardens are there exclusively to issue as many tickets as possible, whether justified or not, to subsidise their wages and useless existence, and that of the local councils.

Can anybody please tell me what these wardens have cost the country in wages, equipment, uniforms (not too much spent there for sure!), leases of cars, and the fuel they guzzle driving around, while playing hide-and-seek with the public at large trying to find the most trivial of reasons to play with their toy computer? What exactly are they contributing to the well-being of the country?

I have wasted enough time, even writing this letter, because I am sure that absolutely nothing is going to change. Just to satisfy my own curiosity, I will waste a bit more time, attend the hearing and contest the fine, to see what sort of recourse is available against the I-do-what-I-like-and-nobody-can-stop-me-wardens.

I have also resolved never to vote again in any local council elections, as whatever the official version of events may be, I am convinced that most of their existence is subsidised and funded by these uncontrolled fine-churning wardens who would probably be lining up at the unemployment office if they weren't doing the "job" they do.